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Dean: GOP Civil War In NY-23 'Destroyed The Republican Party'

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Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean

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Howard Dean, NY-23, VA-Gov

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Former DNC Chair Howard Dean said on MSNBC this morning that the GOP civil war in the special NY-23 congressional race -- in which moderate GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava dropped out and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens after many prominent Republicans defected and supported Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman -- "has destroyed the Republican Party."

"The real Republican's been driven out of the race and they have somebody from the far right," Dean said.

It's destroyed the Republican Party. It's just gonna be fascinating to see what happens.

Dean also said that if Republican Bob McDonnell wins the Virginia gubernatorial race today, his conservative actions in the coming years will "drive more Virginians into the Democratic column by 2012."

But it was NY-23 that Dean said was the biggest deal.

I have never seen anything like this. Even the Democrats at the height of their self destruction didn't do this. I am just stunned by what's going on up there.

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42 comments

Recommend Recommend (1)

November 3, 2009 11:31 AM   

Keep telling yourself this folks. Spin, spin, spin. And if Corzine, Deeds and Owens that would be death to the Republican party.

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November 3, 2009 12:04 PM    in reply to Walter Mitty

That's not exactly a trio of up and comers in the Democratic Party, so I'm not sure them losing is a death knell for our newfound majority.

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November 3, 2009 1:15 PM    in reply to Dorn76

Certainly today is a referendum on Obama, but I don't think that alludes to a GOP gain. NY-23 will be won by a third party candidate, not by a Republican. If a Green won, I don't think people would be calling that a Democratic victory. Deeds is not a very good candidate and if the Republicans pickup the Gov in NJ, I don't see how that is reassuring to Republicans. The Republican Fantasy World will make it a Revolution!, however.

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November 3, 2009 1:49 PM    in reply to Chris

There is no doubt that if the Democrats lose tonight in Virginia, New Jersey and New York, the conservative press will be all over it. I am not just talking about Fox, either.

At the same time, I think that this will wake up Obama -- and the Senate -- and that is a good thing. We have massive majorities and a group of senators unwilling to do anything.

Mob mentality or not, our job as Democrats is harder, right now, with a majority, than it was as a minority party. We have to govern. We have to accomplish things. And, if we fail to do so, we'll lose governor's races. We'll lose House races. We'll lose everywhere.

Dump the filibuster. Please. For legislation, it's completely worthless.

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November 3, 2009 4:33 PM    in reply to Chris

Nope. There is doubt, in fact, whether these elections are a referendum on anything, but the GOP will certainly spin it that way. Would Obama be tied with Chris Christie in a head-to-head in New Jersey?

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November 3, 2009 4:08 PM    in reply to Walter Mitty

Deeds is a BAD candidate who has run a terrible race. I don't know why or how he copped the nomination, but he deserves to lose. Corzine had problems well before the campaign. He has been very disliked in his state. The fact that he is in a position to win is a testament to his money, the roughness of the campaign, and the fact that in the end, Democrats usually pull races like this out. Lastly, Owens is a Democrat running in a district that is so reliably Republican that no Democrat has won for more than a century. That's more than 100 years for the numerically challenged. Even an interloper like Hoffman should win, in spite of the way this race has been handled by the national Republican powers. If it is even close, I wouldn't do much more than breath a sigh of relief if Hoffman pulls this out.

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November 3, 2009 11:34 AM   

Wasn't it Napoleon Bonaparte who said: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."?

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November 3, 2009 11:35 AM   

Can no one see the coming tsunami of Democrats in Disarray stories after VA, NJ and NY23 all go Repub? This is going to be portrayed as a huge victory for Republicans! How is winning elections a bad thing?

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November 3, 2009 11:36 AM    in reply to Bnad

Ask Jimmy Carter.

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November 3, 2009 11:37 AM    in reply to Bnad

... or at the very least a huge victory for the conservative right wing. Which will again be synonymous with the Republican party soon enough.

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November 3, 2009 11:42 AM    in reply to Bnad

It's not bad to win. Republicans will crow, and pretend these elections have nothing to do with local circumstances. However, there may be something good if Democrats who just vote in presidential years or just voted for the first time last year get a lesson in how short electoral victories can be, and get pushed to stay involved. Maybe newer voters don't get that they won't always win, especially when they sit home. So if today is taken as a warning, that could be good.

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November 3, 2009 11:45 AM    in reply to ericf

Just to acknowledge this, my comment joins the assumption of a Republican sweep, which of course we don't yet know. Virginia is a loss, but if the Democrats win in NY and NJ, never mind.

Plus there are lower profile elections the winning side might take comfort from.

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November 3, 2009 1:02 PM    in reply to ericf

Excellent points. A lot of Democrats seem to have misunderstood the President when he said "We are the change we have been waiting for." It does not mean "You all sit on the sidelines and moan while I do this all by myself."

Maybe this will turn out to be a cheap wake-up call for all those sitting back waiting for the President to do everything they want right now and bring pretzels too.

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November 3, 2009 11:36 AM   

Dean's spin is so awkward and clumsy, it's actually embarrasing. Much like Josh "Teabagger" Marshall's fake and phony shudder at Limbaugh's joke.

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November 3, 2009 12:07 PM    in reply to Lalo35adm

Why do you think it's fake and phony? And is that the same as something being "true and accurate" or "over and done"?

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November 3, 2009 11:40 AM   

Here's the difference, and there's no getting around it, no matter who gets elected. Democrats care about other people, while Republicans don't. All the spin in the world can't change that fact.

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November 3, 2009 11:56 AM    in reply to runfastandwin

True, maybe. But it helps how?

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November 3, 2009 11:47 AM   

"Another such victory and we are lost." - Pyrrhus, after his army had suffered heavy casualties while defeating the Romans.

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November 3, 2009 11:48 AM   

Fake AND Phony! Both of'em! WOW!

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November 3, 2009 11:55 AM   

seems bit over the top especially since any republican winning that district is just about a shoe in.

the real question i have is if the wing-nuts represent such a small minority of the party why does the media and the democratic party respond to their every wimper?

no one will ever convince me that anyone with a high profile in the MSM has integrity.
after all the only reason they have jobs is to sell their owers propaganda.

so maybe i just answered my own question!.

brilliant aint I?

>takes small bow, runs off the page.

(TPM readers are soooooooooo extreme)

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November 3, 2009 12:05 PM   

The crazier they get the better off the rest of us are

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November 3, 2009 12:06 PM   

In a "democracy" this corrupt and perverted, with an electorate this ignorant and brainwashed, it was only a matter of time before the party of institutionalized greed and stupidity (i.e. the GOP) started to make a come back. You can't keep a good zombie down.

Dean has to spin, I guess -- it's in his job description. But the fact that one of the two major political parties in this country is falling under the control of a crypto-fascist movement led by porcine wack jobs doesn't exactly strike me as good news, even if the Democrats do gain some temporary political advantage from it (which is hardly a sure thing).

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November 3, 2009 12:09 PM   

Not much to celebrate here for either party. New York voters lose local candidate to tea party candidate loyal to Fox News and Sarah Palin.

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November 3, 2009 12:43 PM    in reply to BigSkyDem

..and worships Beck

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November 3, 2009 12:14 PM   

The crazier they get.....
You can stick the Ann Richards Memorial Turkey Fork in Ole Kay Bailey


TX: Perry 42 Hutchison 30 (UTexas 10/20-27)
from Pollster.com All Content by pollster.emily@gmail.com (Emily Swanson)
by Emily Swanson
University of Texas / Texas Tribune
10/20-27/09; 800 registered voters, 3.5% margin of error
357 likely Republican primary voters, 5.2% margin of error
266 likely Democratic primary voters, 6.1% margin of error
Mode: Live telephone interviews
(Texas Tribune: story, results)
2010 Governor: Republican Primary
42% Rick Perry, 30% Kay Bailey Hutchison. 7% Debra Medina

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rb6

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November 3, 2009 12:27 PM    in reply to johnmccsf

I still don't quite understand why Hutchison is running for governor. I can imagine that being a senator gets to be tedious, especially if you are in the minority, but why run when the opponent is an incumbent from your own party?

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November 3, 2009 12:28 PM   

Politico (via Steve Benen)....I let others read the rag but this is spot on to Dr. Dean's point
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_11/020771.php

In what could be a nightmare scenario for Republican Party officials, conservative activists are gearing up to challenge leading GOP candidates in more than a dozen key House and Senate races in 2010.

Conservatives and tea party activists had already set their sights on some of the GOP's top Senate recruits -- a list that includes Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida, former Rep. Rob Simmons in Connecticut and Rep. Mark Kirk in Illinois, among others.

But their success in Tuesday's upstate New York special election, where grass-roots efforts pushed GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava to drop out of the race and helped Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman surge into the lead on the eve of Election Day, has generated more money and enthusiasm than organizers ever imagined.

Activists predict a wave that could roll from California to Kentucky to New Hampshire and that could leave even some GOP incumbents -- Utah Sen. Bob Bennett is one -- facing unexpectedly fierce challenges from their right flank.

"I would say it's the tip of the spear," said Dick Armey, the former GOP House majority leader who now serves as chairman of FreedomWorks, an organization that has been closely aligned with the tea party movement. "We are the biggest source of energy in American politics today."

"What you're going to see," said Armey, "is moderates and conservatives across the country in primaries."


Meg Whitman ...fork ready CA Gov

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November 3, 2009 12:42 PM    in reply to johnmccsf

Yep, Dick Armey, the biggest source of energy in politics today. He
fails to mention that it is all fear and hatred based - white fear
and hatred of the first African-American President.

The problem for the rethugs is that they can't contain the mob mentality
they helped to create.

Glen Beck is King of the Crazy. He's loving the ego ride.

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November 3, 2009 12:48 PM    in reply to johnmccsf

i have always commented that palin was the worse thing that ever happened to the republicans.

and this is why.

the only question is will they turn out and vote for the republican when their crazie candidates lose the primaries?

I am sure the time for a third party is now!

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November 3, 2009 1:09 PM   

Dean's right about the Demos not coming close to this level of self immolation

I still have vivid, traumatic memories, political PTSD from 1968-72

I feel their pain

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November 3, 2009 1:57 PM   

To repeat what others are saying....
"Doug Hoffman lacked the integrity and qualities needed to be elected to anything -- let alone Congress."

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November 3, 2009 2:10 PM   

Take a look at Doug Hoffman's bio. Child of a single mother who went to state schools on scholarships. He joined the National Guard during the Viet Nam War and stayed in the Reserve until the war was over. He took a job at Price/Waterhouse before returning to work for the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee.

Doesn't this all sound a little, well, like his entire success was taxpayer-supported? Didn't we decide that Olympic Games in the U.S. are anti-American or something?

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November 3, 2009 2:12 PM   

Dick Armey - paid $500,000 annually by the Koch family to spread fear and misinformation. Nightline had an interview last night and Terry Moran, of all people was giving Armey a bad time about his obvious lies. Freedom Works doesn't reveal it's donors, but I did a little research a few years ago when the local rep was being very coy about his connections. Very heavy on energy companies, very south-eastern and bible belt; they stir things up for any conservative cause - for a price of course.

Moran actually got on Armey for the fact that he has had publicly funded insurance for most of his life, but wants to end universal health care. I'm betting that the insurance companies have stepped up their contributions to keep Dick in business.

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November 3, 2009 4:23 PM    in reply to Powkat

amazing how these paid shills can pull the wool over so many peoples eyes and convince them to act against their own best interests.

i dont give a rats ass about them because them would cause me harm if they could get away with it, but they do affect the lives of the rest of us who dont act out of hate.

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November 3, 2009 2:22 PM   

If I lived in NY23 I'd be mighty pissed that outsiders like Armey had come into my district and commandeered the election. That would surely influence my vote. That and Hoffmans "pledge" not to take any earmarks could be a real hit for the districts residents. Political purity surely has it's price, and unfortunately the residents will be the ones paying for the short-term benefit of the republican party.

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November 3, 2009 2:42 PM   

I love Howard Dean, but wasn't it sort of NY 23 when Ned Lamont won the Democratic primary for the Senate and all the "playahs" supported Joe LIEberman?

Bet they wish they hadn't now.

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November 3, 2009 3:10 PM    in reply to Cal Gal

Not even close

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November 3, 2009 3:41 PM    in reply to Cal Gal

The "playahs" supported Lieberman in the primary, as he was the incumbent Dem. In the general the almost entirely supported Lamont.

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November 3, 2009 4:00 PM   

Let Hoffman win this thing to "energize" the right wing crazies across the country. Let them run against what passes for moderate Repubs in primaries and force them both to spend all their money. Let the R party be pulled so far to the right that the only support they will be able to muster come 2010 will be the hardcore 30% of this country that still thinks GWB was a great president. The Republican party will need 40 years to come out of the wildenrness after this one.

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November 3, 2009 7:48 PM    in reply to Publishermike

NEVER let evil win!

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November 3, 2009 6:50 PM   

One thing no one has thought about....when Hoffman gets elected...he will have to actually govern. He can't. He doesn't even live there. He knows nothing about the district, or the people.
So...he is going to cut all services, take away rights, (as much as he can), and generally screw up the whole district. Same thing for Virginia, though, McWhatever is a better candidate than Deeds. Actually, Virginia has been pretty well run under the Dems the last few years. Schools, especially. My teacher-daughter used to live there. The roads, however, suck. So, they have a year to really screw things up. And...think of this, Glen Beck is actually Hoffman's mentor!! What a hoot!!

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November 3, 2009 9:19 PM   

Howard Dean, that's a good one. Skuzzyfuzzy a republican is another good one.

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